Putting your financial disaster into proper perspective is the first step toward overcoming it. Brad Klontz, an associate research professor in personal financial planning at Kansas State University, says to frame it as an opportunity for growth.
"We can learn much more from our failures than from our successes," Klontz says. He urges victims of financial setbacks to examine their personal roles in helping create the outcome and says we should own our failures the way we do our successes.
"If our focus is entirely outward, we doom ourselves to repeated failures," he says.
Klontz recommends seeking professional help if money-related depression lingers. For those without the resources to pay for counseling, some charitable, religious and community-based organizations offer programs with reduced fees.